The Functionalist View on Education (for as Level Sociology)

“Asses the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of the role of education”

Functionalists take a very positive view of education. They see it as a form of secondary socialisation which is essential to the maintenance of society. Functionalists believe that social institutions including education benefit society and perform functions to maintain a stable society. However there are many different theories to consider. Sociologists such as Durkheim believe that education has two main roles. These are ‘Creating social solidarity’ and ‘teaching specialist skills’. Durkheim believes that social solidarity is created through teaching children shared norms and values. These are taught particularly in history lessons where students learn about their shared heritage. It may also be constructed through wearing school uniform or in American schools, pledging to the American flag. This helps create value consensus and prepares students for work as both children and adults have to work with people who aren’t family or friends. Durkheim also establishes the fact that modern industrial society has a very complex division of labour. He argues that education teaches students specialist skills in order to keep the economy functioning, as students can apply their skills to specific jobs that society needs them to perform. Parsons argues that school is a ‘bridge` between family and wider society, especially work. He states that how we are treated in the family is different to how we are treated at work. Therefore schools must prepare children for this change. Parsons claims that in the family a child is judged by particularistic standards (rules that apply only to that child/family) thus their status is ascribed. However in school and work, children are judged by universalistic standards (rules that apply to everyone equally), which means their status is achieved through passing exams or working towards a promotion. According to Parsons both school and work are...

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...Outline and assess the functionalist’s view of educationFunctionalists look at how society works in a scientific way to see how it works. They have similar ideas about education too. There are three main functions. The first is socialisation. Education is a source of secondary socialisation. It helps to teach young people values, norms equality and achievement. Schools are the main part of a child’s day and therefore influence them greatly. The second is learning skills. When in education, you learn a number of skills such as numeracy and literacy. This has now been made compulsory to ensure young people are getting the best qualification of their ability. This will result in them getting the grades they need and having jobs best suited to them. The final one is the allocation of roles. There is said to be a fair system which allocates the right people for the right job. This is all based on their skills and qualification. Therefore, everyone has a fair opportunity.
Durkheim is a sociologist who compared schools to a miniature society. He believed that social solidarity, social order and meritocracy are learned through education to make people function right through society. Social solidarity happens when the children are made to work in a team or because they wear uniforms. If helps us feel like we belong in the community. However, it also makes people feel less of an...

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Critically evaluate the functionalist perspective on education (20 marks)
Functionalist’s perspective on education is based on the consensus theory of equality. They tend to believe that education helps to maintain society by socialising young people with the value of achievement, competition and equality of opportunity. Education also teaches the skills to help the economy. For example, literacy, numeracy and IT for particular occupations. Role allocation is all part of this; education allocates people to the most appropriate jobs of their talents, using examinations and qualifications. Durkheim identified two main functions of education: creating social solidarity and teaching specialist skills.
The government, or state, provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. The family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families. In the process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn support the state. If all goes well, the parts of society produce order, stability, and productivity. Functionalism emphasizes the consensus and order that exist in society, focusing on social stability and shared public values. From this perspective, disorganization in the system, such as deviant...

...﻿Asses the view that the main function of education is to reproduce and legitimate social inequalities
Functionalism is a consensus theory which sees society as being essentially harmonious. It argues that society has basic needs, including the need for social order. To survive, society needs social solidarity through everyone sharing the same norms and values. Durkheim said that the purpose of education is to promote social normality. He sees major functions of education as the transmission of society’s norms and values. Durkheim also says it prepares people for work and jobs are specialised and people need training for that and the job of education is what they need to go out to work. In school the child learns to interact with other members of the school community and to follow a fixed set of rules. This experience prepares the child for interacting with members of society as an adult and accepting social rules. Durkheim argues that individuals must be taught specialist skills so that they can take their place within a highly complex division of labour in which people have to co-operate to produce items. Marxists argue that educational institutions tend to transmit a dominant culture which serves the interest of the ruling class rather than those of society as a whole. Willis and Hargreaves say it is not always successful as some do not follow it. Feminists feel the men’s values move on and women...

...The Contribution of FunctionalistSociology to an Understanding of the Role of Education in Society
Works Cited Missing
''Schools serve a function in a complex industrial society that family
and peer groups cannot'' ( Durkheim,1956)
Education is important in society. The structure and processes of
education systems are related to the general process of socialisation.
All sociologists agree with this, but sociologists have many different
views about how societies are structured. They have many different
views about the role of education in society. The following research
will focus on the role of education from a Functionalist, Marxist and
an Interactionalist's perspective.
Functionalists think of education as a positive function for all
individuals in society, which has a powerful influence over it. The
aims of education in functionalism are to maintain social stability,
keep society in consensus and resolve any conflict. Durkheim and
Parsons saw education as an essential agency of socialisation whose
function is to transmit common values to the next generation. Parsons
argued that schools act as a bridge between the family and a wide
society within the role of education being to promote universal values
such as...

...﻿Functionalist perspective on the role of education
A functionalist’s perspective on education is to examine society in terms of how it is maintained or in other words how it is ran effectively. A functionalist exaggerates on positive aspects of schools such as socialisation, learning skills and attitudes in school. This is because functionalists believe everything in society happens for a reason to instil the smooth running of society. They see no wrong in society and turn their nose down at the things like schools with bad exam grades due to poor employment etc.
Education helps society by socialising young people into values of achievement, competition and equal opportunity. This then prepares the young people for work in the future as these are all the traits you will need in working life which is why the functionalists argue that school is a smooth running society. Skills are also important as education teaches the skills for the economy, for example business, literacy, numeracy and IT. Role allocation is a big part in school as education allocates people to the most appropriate jobs for their talents, using examinations and qualifications. Functionalists see school as the fairest way to determine an individual’s ability. They argue the best way to determine a young person’s future is by how well they do in their exams, despite...

...Level 3 is ideal if you have significant experience as a school support worker and wish to move into a more specialised role - in administration, learning support and management.
There are four qualifications to choose from at this level:
Level 3 Award in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools
Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools
Level 3 Certificate in Cover Supervision
Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools.
The Award is comprised of mandatory units, including:
Communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults (2 credits)
Understand how to safeguard the well-being of children and young people.
Units for the longer Certificates include:
Support learning activities (4 credits)
Promote equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people (2 credits)
Support assessment for learning (4 credits).
To achieve the Diploma, you must complete both mandatory and optional units. Optional units have been divided into the following six groups:
Group A - Supporting learning
Group B - English as an additional language
Group C - Special educational needs
Group D - Providing pastoral support
Group E - Supporting the wider work of the school
Group F - Working with colleagues.
For a full list of units and requirements, download the qualification handbook...

...the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of the role of education (20)
Functionalists claim that the education system is a meritocracy and that the education system exists to allow the most talented students through to fill the most important jobs in society. Testing of ability through examinations is one of the most fundamental elements of the British education system.
Emile Durkheim believed that education had a number of purposes (or functions) for society. The first of these is to reinforce our sense of belonging and community (social solidarity). This is done is schools in a number of ways, but it can be seen best in those things which unite people and make them feel part of a group. The next role of education is to maintain social roles and social rules (social order). Schools are like a wider society in miniature, so pupils learn that some people have more power than others, manners are important. They learn the patterns of behaviour that will help them to survive in society when they leave school. On the other hand, Bowles and Gintis, considered that the main function of education in capitalist countries is to regenerate the labour market. They proposed correspondence theory; this suggests that educational inequality mirrors the inequality of wider society. Whereas Functionalists see education as a process...

...Sociological Portrait: Milestone 2
In reviewing the different functions of education, of which there are several. From formal to informal each is important as the next in an individual’s development and future function in society. The function of formal education consists of learning skills and gaining knowledge, i.e., reading, math, history, science, languages to name just a few. Outside of the more necessary function of education is socialization, future preparation, and economic functions. My K-12 education has spanned from primary school both private and public, secondary, and vocational.
Starting my educational career in private school led to not only the more formal aspects of learning but also informal. Religion though not the main focus of the school played a heavy part in the first years of my socialization and integration into educational atmosphere. This was widely shown in the hidden curriculum of the private school I attended. A hidden curriculum is where administrators, teachers, and school counselors for example have standards of behavior that they want students to adhere too (Manza et al., 2013, p. 416). There were many hidden rules within this school from dressing a certain way, prayer, establishing gender roles, and obeying authority. Looking back through the lens of a sociological perspective the hidden curriculum is plain to see and understand. These things were not written rules, were not...